Fuel bunker for the steam generators of locomotives, marine and stationary engines, and plant



Apnl 1, 1930. R H WHITELEGG 1,752,870

FUEL BUNKER FOR THE STEAM GENERATORS OF LOCOMOTIVES, MARINE ANDSTATIONARY ENGINES; AND PLANT Filed April 4, 1929 2 SheetsSheet 1 April1, 1930. R. H. WHITELEGG FUEL BUNKER FOR THE STEAM GENERATORS OFLOCOMOTIV Es, MARINE AND STATIONARY ENGINES, AND PLANT FilefiApril 4,1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 l atented Apr; 1, 1 930 UNITED STATES ,nonnn'rHARZBEN wmrnrnce, or. nrsLnY, ENGLALND" rum. BUNKER non ilHE STEAMennnnnrons'or Looomorrvns, MARINE AND s'r'A-M TIONARY ENGINES, AND PLANTApplication filed April 4, 1929, Serial No. 352,541, andin Gr'eatBritainJune 15, 1928.

Thisinvention relatesprincipally to steam;

locomotives but may be applied to stationary, marine or other plant, andhas for-its object the provision of means whereby thetrimming of coalorother fuel carried in bunkers may be performed mechanically v and in amore convenient and eflicient manner than hereto-V fore.

In locomotive practice it is usual to carry the coal or similar fuel ina bunker or con helping the fuel to slide towards the shovel-v l-ingplate or opening. These self-trimming methods are not satisfactoryinasmuch that.

it'is not often practicable to provide sloping :0 sides and bottoms ofsufficient incline to cause the coal to slide, and it is thereforenecessary to shovel the coal from the back of the bunker to the front byhand, thus entailing consider able extra work for the fireman or otherattendant.

To overcome this difficulty devices have been suggested for pushingforwardth'e fuel bymeans of a steam cylinder and ram, but theseappliances are not satisfactory in service 80 owing to small coal orother dirt quickly preventing movement of the ram due to clogging.

The present invention consists of a fuel bunker for the steam generatorsof locomotive, marine and stationary engines and plant consisting of aclosed. vessel or container provided with filling and delivery openingsand doors the vessel being rotati vely mounted with its lowermost sideinclined.

Av revolvable bunker or container made in accordance with the presentinvention may be of any suitable shape or section but is preferably ofcircular cross section and tapering-in diameter from front to back, thelarger diameter being at the forward end near to the drivers footplate.The axis of this taper cylinder may be horizontal but will prefer ablybe higher at the rear than at the front, the top side of the cylinderbeing practically horizontal, thus giving the bottom side of thecylinder a steepslope. The cylinder or on inermay b upp ted by su tab ebear: ings from'the framework-orattachments of he locom ti o e an t l mehanism r aus ng the cy n e to revolv may e at ache o the cy n ndth f mWor At s ble p a in th c r mfernce of t e Cylinder w l be prov de o rato ope r fill g in he u l a d o lo e for prevention of losing the, fuelduring rotationv ofthe cylinder, To facilitate the filling of thecontainer or bunker, the filling doors may be made so as toform a.hopperwhenopen, and suitable abutments may be fixed to the framework orthe water tank to support the doors against the weight of the fuel as itfalls from the tipping wagons or grab. I may pro-' vide the containerwith sliding doors, and

hopper plates may be fixed to the framework or to the water tank orother suitable part of the locomotive or tender or other foundation; Theinside ofthe cylinder may be smooth or provided with guides or vanesarranged spirally or any other suitable-way to help forward the coal.The bearings ofthe cylinder may be provided with rollers or otheranti-frictional devices and suitable clips for maintaining contactbet-ween the cylinder and the bearings may be provided as desired.

'The mechanism for rotatingthe cylinder may be operated by hand orbysteam or other suitable motor. One method ofrevolving the cylinder orcontainer may be by a toothed ring fixed to the outside .of the cylinderand,

gearing with a pinion or worm operated by a shaft and handle from thedrivers. footplate. The toothed ringmay conveniently be made to form therunway for the supporting roller bearings. Another method 'may' be'bygearing attached to the axis of the cylinder or any other suitablemethod may be used.

At the front or footplate end of the cylinder, or container may beprovided one or more doors and shovel'ling plates so arranged that anaperture or apertures in the cylinder front end'may "be opened or closedas desired, to obtain fuel from the container or to seal up thecontainer during the process :of :revolv-.- ing. The shovelling platemay be made to form the door also, and flexible side shields venient forthe fireman to handle. Any num-.

ber of doors may be provided at the front end, thus limiting the amountof revolution required, further advantage of this closed form of bunker,is that the coal dust cannot be blown on to the footplate of the enginewhen travelling. The apparatus may be applied to any form of locomotiveor tender or to stationary, marine or anyother form of bunker or'container. r

It will be advantageous under certain conditions. to maketheshovellingdoor and platform stationary so as to always present a fixed platform,without the necessity for revolving the container a definite amount, andthe present invention also comprises a re- Volvable fuel container orbunker in which,

the end for the discharge of the fuel is closed bya separate structureor casting; this structureor casting being fixed to the framework of thelocomotive or tender or to the framework of the vessel or on the groundor other convenient place, and preferably containing bearings forcarrying the revolvable container. Outlets for the fuel and suitableshovelling platforms and doors may be provided as part of the structureor casting, also doors for access to the fuel container. 1

Another feature of the invention comprises a conveyor for transportingthe fuel from the delivery platform or door at the fixedend piece of therotary container'to the firebox or other part of the plant; so as toavoid the necessity for manhandling the fuel. The conveyor may be of thescroll, screw or any other suitable method and operated by steam orothermotor, and the fuel may be crushed, broken or pulverized by anysuitable method on its way from the container to the combus- ,tionchamber. Steam for the operating motor may be taken from the boilerusing the fuel or from any other source of supply, or

the motor may be driven by any other means.

The pulverizer may be of any suitable form and may be part of theconveyor system or separate as desired and suitable distributors andburners for either pulverized or other fuel may be provided. I mayprovide a pulverizerv and suitable blowing apparatus for conveyingthepulverized fuel, or any combination of mechanical conveyor and blowingapparatus.

A manner of carrying out the invention is illustrated by theaccompanying drawing wherein Figure 1 is a side elevation and Figure 2an end elevation of the tender portion of a locomotive, while Figures 3and 4 are similar views of a locomotive of the Garratt type.

In Figures 1 and 2, A is the tender with water tank and frameworkcarried on wheels B. The tender is attached to the locomotive G at D.The fuel bunker is a closed rotary vessel or container E which is at itsfront end supported upon and carried by bearings in the form of rollersF, F and is rotated by means of toothed gearing G operated by a handleH. The rear end of the container E. is supportedby' a central bearing FThe" rotary vessel E is provided with hinged filling doorsJand'slidingfilling doors J In some cases either the sliding doors or thehinged doors are dispensed with, and

when hinged doors are used they may be de signed when opened out as, inFigure 2 to formafuel hopper. c y

The container E has a front fixture and may be provided with rollers Farranged to form anti-friction bearings for the container. Either therollers F or F maybe dispensedwith. A shovelling plate or platform L: isprovided at a fuel delivery outlet L also doors M are provided in thefront fixture K, and side shields S, S, are arranged at the sides of theshovelling platform L.

The fuel is delivered on to a footplate N for hand firing and into aconveyor system P for mechanical firing. In the system shown ahorizontal conveyor P delivers fuel to the lower end of a verticalconveyor P which delivers the fuel into the furnace Q, of the locomotiveboiler. Alternatively the conveyor P delivers fuel through a pipe p intoa power driven pulverizer T having a blower U which conveys pulverizedfuel through the pipe u into the furnace Q.

In the application of the invention as applied to a Garratt articulatedlocomotive, as shown in Figures 3 and l, the corresponding parts aregiven the same reference numerals, and as thehind power unit carries thebearings F and F of the receiver IE, it is given the same referencenumeral as the tender A of Figures 1 and 2.

The gear G for rotatingthereceiver, i11- stead of being driven by handmay be driven by a steam or othermotor.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. A fuel bunkerfor the steam generators of locomotive, marine and stationary enginesand plant consisting of a closed vessel or container provided withfilling and delivery openings and doors the vessel being rotativelymounted on bearings with its lowermost side inclined and provided withmechanism for rotating.

2. A fuel bunker for steam generators of locomotives, marine andstationary engines and plant, consisting of a closed rotary vessel orcontainer of which the lowermost side is inclined downwards towards thefuel disint charge end which is closed by a separate fixed structure orcasting having a fuel delivery outlet.

3. A fuel bunker in accordance with claim 1, wherein the vessel istapering in cross section and mounted with its uppermost side horizontalor approaching thereto.

4. A fuel bunker in accordance with claim 1, wherein the vessel ismounted on rollers or other anti-friction bearings.

5. A fuel bunker in accordance with claim 1, wherein the filling doorsare adapted to open out to form a hopper.

6. A fuel bunker in accordance with claim 1, wherein sliding fillingdoors are provided and separatehopper plates.

7. A fuel bunker in accordance with claim 1, wherein the shovellingplate or plates is or are adapted to form a door or doors to closeopenings during rotation of the bunker.

8. A fuel bunker in accordance with claim 1, wherein side shields areused to form the sides. of the shovelling platform.

9. A fuel bunker in accordance with claim 5 2 wherein the-separate fixedstructure or casting contains bearings for carrying the rotary vessel orcontainer.

10. A fuel bunker in accordance with claim 2 wherein on the separatefixed structure or casting is provided a shovelling platform.

11. A fuel bunker in accordance with claim 2, wherein the separate fixedstructure or casting is also provided with one or more doors for accessto the fuel container. 12. A fuel bunker in accordance with claim 2wherein is provided a conveyor for conveying fuel from the outlet of theseparate fixed structure to the fire box or other rece-iver.

13. A fuel bunker in accordance with claim 2, wherein a fuel reducer isprovided in the conveyor system.

1.4. A fuel bunker in accordance with claim 2 wherein a power drivenfuel reducer and furnace feed blower is provided in the conveyor system.

15. A fuel bunker in accordance with claim 1, wherein apower driven fuelpulverizer is provided with blowing apparatus for conveying thepulverized fuel into the furnace.

16. A fuel bunker in accordance with claim 1, wherein one or more doorsare provided in the front end for access to the fuel container. Inwitness whereof I aifix my signature.

ROBERT HARBEN WHITELEGG.

